* Environmental protesters being held on piracy charges
* First foreigners to appeal against detention fail
* Finnish minister resigns over separate Greenpeace protest
By Gabriela Baczynska
MOSCOW, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Two Britons held in Russia for aGreenpeace protest were ordered to remain in pre-trial detentionon Friday, a defeat for the first of the many foreigners amongthe 30 detainees to seek bail.
Freelance videographer Kieron Bryan and Greenpeace activistPhillip Ball, who, like the others, face piracy charges, hadappealed against an order that they be held through lateNovember.
The court, in the northern port city of Murmansk, hasalready denied bail to four Russians held for the Sept. 18protest in which a Greenpeace ship was boarded by securityforces close to an oil rig in the Arctic.
The piracy charges - punishable by up to 15 years' jail-appear aimed at sending a message that Moscow will not tolerateattempts to disrupt its development of the resource-rich Arcticthat Greenpeace says could destroy a pristine environment.
Other countries and companies are seeking to exploit Arcticenergy resources and face similar concerns fromenvironmentalists. A Finnish minister resigned on Friday over arow about a Greenpeace protest last year.
Putin has said the activists were not pirates but that theyhad violated international law. The head of the Kremlin'sadvisory body on human rights has said he would ask prosecutorsto withdraw the piracy charges.
Kumi Naidoo, head of Greenpeace International, has writtento President Vladimir Putin asking to meet him and offering tostand as security in Russia for the release of the activists onbail.
Putin's spokesman said the letter, published in Westernmedia on Wednesday, had not yet arrived at the Kremlin, and saidit unliely to affect the legal process.
"(Putin) probably cannot get involved in a discussion aboutthe investigative activity that is taking place," Dmitry Peskovtold reporters.
MINISTER RESIGNS
Investigators have said more charges will be pressed againstsome protesters after drugs and other suspect items were foundon the boat, the Arctic Sunrise. Greenpeace denies there wereillegal items aboard.
Greenpeace, whose activists tried to scale the Gazprom-owned Prirazlomnaya rig, says the protest was peaceful andcalls the piracy charges absurd and unfounded.
Those arrested include American, Argentinian, Australian,Brazilian, Canadian, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, Italian,New Zealand, Swedish, Swiss, Polish, Turkish and Ukrainiancitizens.
In neighbouring Finland, a government minister who hadappeared sympathetic to Greenpeace in a separate Arctic protest,resigned.
Heidi Hautala, minister for international development who isalso in charge of overseeing state ownership of companies, wascriticised by colleagues and the media for trying to dissuadestate-owned shipping firm Arctia Shipping from filing a criminalcomplaint against the protest group.
Protesters scaled an Arctia icebreaker, contracted by Shell,in Helsinki last year to demonstrate against Arctic drilling.
Hautala, a member of the Green Party, said she thought astate-owned firm should seek dialogue rather than legal action.
"I feel, however, that it would be very difficult for me towork in this role and therefore I see that it is best solutionthat I resign," she said.
